City are languishing in eighth, six points off the pace, on the back of four away losses, while Spurs are a point ahead of them in seventh, 11 games into the season.
The situation is slightly better for Jose Mourinho's Chelsea, the Blues sitting fourth despite an inconsistent start to the season, including recent stumbles against Newcastle and West Bromwich Albion.
The firepower is certainly there for all three, but is it a case of 'what a waste of money'?
MANCHESTER CITY
Manuel Pellegrini's side have been like two teams this season.
At home they've been irrepressible,
annihilating the likes of Norwich City 7-0 and champions Manchester
United 4-1, picking up four wins and a draw out of their five
fixtures at Etihad Stadium.
Away it's been a totally different story, with just four points
gained from a possible 18.That includes losses to new boys Cardiff City, Aston Villa, Chelsea and most recently, cellar dwellars Sunderland.
If not for their terrific record at home, that would be relegation-like form.
Chopping and Changing
Stability has been another issue for Pellegrini, as he tries to settle on a first-choice XI.
As always, City saw plenty of action during the transfer window, but to date only Fernandinho and Alvaro Negredo have found their feet or been given an extended run in the side.
Hart
breaks
Flapping
at Cardiff crosses, a mistake at Villa Park and a monumental mix up
with Matija Nastasic at Chelsea resulted in Pellegrini dropping the
previously untouchable Joe Hart in goal.
A bold move. Not least because Hart had played every minute of every Premier League game for City since taking over as No 1 from Shay Given in 2010.
Stand-in
Costel Pantilimon, a towering, 6ft 8in Romania stopper, had looked
capable until some suspect positioning at the Stadium of Light
allowed Phil Bardsley to roll home into an empty net.
The media have feasted on the struggles of City's neighbours
United, but that blowtorch will now be placed on Pellegrini and his
big-money men.
TOTTENHAM
According to Einstein, doing the same thing over and over again
and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.Unfortunately for Tottenham fans this well known phrase seems to have dodged the attention of manager Andre Villas-Boas, who having bought over half a team in the summer simply cannot get them to play.
That's Dan Ripley of the Daily Mail's assessment of Spurs this season.
Where are the goals?
Tottenham's problem is simple, they can't score goals. They've put the ball in the back of the net just nine times in 11 Premier League matches, and three of those came from the penalty spot.
To put that into perspective, Daniel Sturridge, Sergio Aguero and Luis Suarez have all scored eight goals this campaign.
Gareth Bale's departure has hurt, but with Roberto Soldado, Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Nacer Cha
No comments:
Post a Comment